Combine breast and bottle

There are a number of items you’ll need before you introduce bottle feeding alongside into your breastfeeding routine. Choose a bottle that is designed to give your baby a feeding experience that is as close to breastfeeding as possible. This will make the transition from breast to bottle as smooth and easy as possible.

You will need 3 or 4 bottles to get started and a selection of teats with different flow rates to accommodate your baby grows. Ideally, try to wait until breastfeeding is established before giving your baby a bottle (roughly 3 to 4 weeks after birth).

Combining breast and bottle feeding

If you’re planning on returning to work, begin bottle feeding at least two weeks before your start date. Your baby may take a while to get used to bottle feeding.

Some tips:

Be patient. Some babies take a little milk, might pause for some sleep and wake up for more.
As you feed, keep the bottle tilted so that the teat is always full of milk to prevent your baby taking in air.
Try to get into the habit of burping about halfway through the feed and after feeding.
Hold your bottle in a position where they can make eye contact with you. Bottle feeding can be just as nurturing physically as breastfeeding if you hold your baby close.
Offer your baby a bottle a bit later than regular feeding time so they will be hungry and interested.
Heat the teat with warm water to make it more appealing.
Put some breast milk on the teat. When your baby tastes it they may start sucking to get more.

Q: "How often should I bottle feed my baby?"
A: "As with breastfeeding you should bottle feed your baby breast milk or formula on demand. The volume of feeds demanded will gradually increase until you start weaning and then the frequency and number of feeds should be decreased."